


The Customer Isn't Always Right

by NikAdair



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: checker tsukishima, karen customer, manager tadashi, retail work, working during the pandemic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26127484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikAdair/pseuds/NikAdair
Summary: “Jeez Kei, I know I should write you up, because that was seriously unprofessional of you, even if she deserved it.” Tadashi pulled away, tugging his shirt down. “Go on break for now. I have to at least pretend like I’m going to reprimand you,” he whispered.Kei nodded, logging off the computer and walking around him, shrinking slightly under the looks he got from people. He pushed through the doors to the back, pulling his mask off. He avoided the look of the other department managers as he walked into the break room, thankful he was the only one there.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Kudos: 35





	The Customer Isn't Always Right

**Author's Note:**

> Day Four of TsukkiYama Week! I used the Retail prompt, and had fun brainstorming for this fic.  
> We all know Kei wouldn't have the best customer service skills and would step up and talk back to a customer in a heart beat. Plus, I definitely see Tadashi being able to make manager.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

“Thank you for shopping with us. Have a good day,” Kei said, his voice lacking any kind of enthusiasm or energy. The man nodded, taking his bags and walking away, and he sighed. He was only halfway through his shift and already wanted to leave (he’d wanted to leave before he’d gotten there, but that wasn’t the point).

He looked down his lane, watching people with carts walk by. He sighed again, and his mask made his glasses fog up. Another reason he wanted to go home (or at least on break) -- he wanted out of that damn mask.

Kei took his glasses off and he wiped them. It was the fifth time that day it’d happened, and he was really debating on wearing his contacts tomorrow.

He heard items being placed on his lane, and he put his glasses on, looking over to see a lady with a massive cart of groceries standing there, steadily piling things on. Kei hit the button and the belt started moving.

“Hello, how are you?” he asked, taking items and scanning them.

“I’d be much better if you actually had your shelves stocked,” the lady said in annoyance.

Kei inwardly sighed.  _ She’s one of those people _ . He looked over at her, trying to keep the annoyance out of his eyes. “I’m very sorry to hear that, miss.”

She looked up at him and scowled, and Kei saw that she wasn’t wearing a mask either.  _ As if we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic. _ “If you were really that sorry, you’d have your damn shelves filled.”

“I assure you that we are doing the best--”

He was cut off by a scoff, the lady pausing in her stacking to look at him like he’d just said the stupidest thing in the world. “Your  _ best _ is far from good. And what’s with the masks? This is just the flu.”

_ If it were just the flu, you wouldn’t be buying half the store _ , Kei thought to himself, continuing with his scanning. “The masks are company policy for us to wear. Customers are allowed to choose if they’d like to wear them, but employees are required.”

The lady -- Karen, as Kei had started to call her -- scoffed again, rolling her eyes. “I don’t like your attitude, boy. I’d like to talk to your manager.”

Kei paused for a second, sighing, and flicked on his lane light. “A manager will be over shortly. I apologize for any attitude I may have given.”

Karen crossed her arms, scowling at him as she waited. He looked over at her cart and scowled. She’d barely gotten half her cart on the belt before deciding that the was the problem.

He looked behind him, seeing Tadashi walk over, and smiled a little. Tadashi was much better at handling customers than he was.

“What wrong Kei?” Tadashi asked, reaching around to flick off the light.

“The problem is that this boy has the nerve to give me, the customer, attitude,” Karen said, rather aggressively. It took everything in him to not roll his eyes. Instead, he stepped away from the register, allowing Tadashi to take his spot.

“I’m sure Kei didn’t mean to, but I am very sorry about him,” Tadashi said. Kei knew that he had that fake pleasant look plastered on his face. Could tell in the way that his voice was laced with patience.

Karen didn’t seem to take too kindly to it, as her scowl was turned from him to Tadashi. “You’re the manager, right? Reprimand him, scold him, take off the damn register, I don’t care. You shouldn't allow this kind of behaviour.”

Tadashi raised his hands slightly -- a gesture he’d seen often enough when he would try to de-escalate arguments during group projects. “I assure you that he will be talked to later, when we aren’t busy.” He gestured to the other lanes and the lines of people waiting to check out.

“That’s not good enough!” Karen all but shouted. “I demand to speak to your higher up!”

“I’m afraid they are currently not here. If you--”

Karen cut him off. “What kind of place are you running?? Are you even qualified to be a manager?? There’s no way you could be!!”

He saw Tadashi shrink a little, and Kei had decided that he’d had enough of her. He pulled Tadashi back, ignoring the look he got, and stepped back in front of the register. “Miss, I’m going to have to ask you to kindly keep your comments to yourself or please remove yourself from my lane.”

Karen gaped at him, stammering and going red faced. “You can’t talk to me like that!! I am a customer!!”

Kei started pulling things from their bags. “And a very dumb one at that, clearly.” Karen gasped, and he looked up at her. “You realize that we’re in the middle of a pandemic, right? That these masks that you seem to think are ridiculous are used to help keep the spread to a minimum? Or is that you can’t seem to find one that matches your atrocious fashion sense. If you could even call it that.”

He was aware that several customers and employees were looking at him, but he really didn’t care at the moment. “Now then, this transaction is void--” Kei tapped aggressively on the computer, clearing it, “--and you will have to put everything back in your cart and go to a different lane.”

Karen stared at him, looking ready to burst, before throwing things in her cart and storming off. Kei let out a breath and he turned towards Tadashi, ready to be told to clock out and that he’d be written up. Instead, he was met with a wide eyed look before being wrapped in a hug.

“Jeez Kei, I know I should write you up, because that was seriously unprofessional of you, even if she deserved it.” Tadashi pulled away, tugging his shirt down. “Go on break for now. I have to at least pretend like I’m going to reprimand you,” he whispered.

Kei nodded, logging off the computer and walking around him, shrinking slightly under the looks he got from people. He pushed through the doors to the back, pulling his mask off. He avoided the look of the other department managers as he walked into the break room, thankful he was the only one there.

Tadashi followed in a few minutes later, pulling off his mask and sitting across from him. Kei was still expecting him to lecture him, because he knew that he really should’ve just kept his mouth shut and let Tadashi deal with the situation. But seeing her saying that he wasn't qualified to be the manager -- a position that he earned on his own -- had really ticked him off.

“Tadashi, I--” He stopped when he looked up at Tadashi, who had tears in his eyes. Kei reached towards him, taking his hand. “Tadashi, what’s wrong?”

He laughed, wiping his eyes with his free hand. “I hate this job, you know? Having to deal with people like her. Being yelled at because we don’t have something on the shelf. Having to run interference in situations like this. During this stupid pandemic.” Tadashi let out a watery laugh. “This wasn’t in the job description.”

“Let’s quit.” Tadashi looked at him wide-eyed, like he’d just suggested they shave their heads. “Find better jobs. Ones we don’t hate.” Kei took his other hand, holding them tight. “Ones where you don’t get yelled at by ungrateful idiots who are too stupid to wear a mask.” That comment pulled a small laugh from Tadashi. “And ones where you don’t have to worry about me getting fired because of something I say.”

Tadashi opened his mouth to say something, but Kei shook his head. “I know I’m not the best person to be working retail. That my comments get both of us in trouble. So let’s quit.”

“Kei, we can’t just quit. We don’t even know if there are places that are hiring right now,” Tadashi said.

“So we look to see if we can find any first. Tadashi,” Kei tightened his hold on his hands, “I can’t watch you get berated by customers like that anymore. Please, for me.”

Tadashi sighed, looking down at the table. “Okay. But only if we can find other jobs first.”

Kei sighed in relief, leaning back in his chair. “Thank you, Tadashi.”

“Yeah, yeah. But you really need to work on your customer service skills. I’m almost certain I’m never going to hear the end of it from Suga tomorrow when he finds out about this.” Kei looked away guiltily. “If he asks, I did reprimand you, but the write up got shuffled into my papers somewhere and I can’t find it.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Kei said. Tadashi laughed a little, leaning forward and kissing him quickly.

“Don’t be. She needed someone to tell her that. Besides, you’re right, her fashion sense is awful,” Tadashi laughed. Kei laughed with him, shaking his head.

“You’re the worst.”


End file.
